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A quick follow-up to Anthony’s new Memorial Day inspired Musical Lexicon. This is in no way attempting to steal Anthony’s thunder, but cease your Google search for “The War Was in Color,” I’m just going to post it right here. Anthony and I are on similar wavelengths. “The War Was in Color” is one of Virginia folk/celtic rock band Carbon Leaf‘s best songs.

It is also a perfect pairing for Memorial Day, where since the Civil War we have honored those who have fought and continue to fight for the privilege of being a free American. The true meaning of this day is often lost to the gas grill and the cool wetness of a dip in the pool. Many people have marked Memorial Day as an unofficial beginning of summer and this has transformed the holiday into a day of festive family get-togethers.

I don’t believe this transformation is a perversion of the holiday. Some are quick to point out that by consuming franks and burgers while tanning in backyards across the country, Americans are not fulfilling their duty of honoring the military men and women (and dogs) that keep us safe. But I would argue that our actions represent a celebration of being American and being free. I do urge everyone to take a moment today to just think of the soldier lost during World War II whose body was never recovered. The soldier who is forever memorialized in grainy black and white photographs that will inevitably wither away with the memory of him throughout time. Think of the soldier in Afghanistan who cannot be with his daughter and wife today. Salute the memory of those lost and the life of those currently serving. Here is “The War Was in Color”